TAMPA, Fla. —
Students across the country have packed up their books and are now learning from home, thanks to COVID-19 coronavirus.
Trying to learn without a teacher physically there can present its own set of challenges, even more so when the subject is an elective like music.
It can seem challenging to have a student practice music from home but according to Dr. Judith Jain, the founder and director of New Tampa Piano and Pedagogy Academy in Tampa, now -- more than ever -- is a time to encourage students to work on their musical skill.
“They need some sense of normalcy and we need to bring beauty to their lives,” Jain said. “It’s essential at this point that our kids remain doing their music lessons.
"The way we teach online is the same way we teach when they are in person. Online teaching is nothing new."
Jain said as long as the parents set up a space that is calm and quiet, they can get the same experience as being there in person.
“We need parents' support in a different way by getting a good set up at home,” Jain said. “The quality and the quantity will remain the same.”
With today's technology, there are more online resources than ever before. Jalyn Courtenay Webb, a professor and artist in Colorado said that online sessions are more common because artists who would be working and performing are now home, offering their knowledge to students.
“This week alone, I taught 50 kids through online sessions,” Webb said. She also encouraged parents to expose their kids to music through free online resources like the National Theatre, the Rocketters weekly dance lessons and Andrew Lloyd Webber's free musicals on YouTube.
Her company, The Academy by Divabee, is also encouraging students to musically express themselves every day through small challenges like posting a video of them singing a Disney song or even writing their own music.
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